HW NEWS

BEYONCÉ RELEASES RENAISSANCE

THE SEVENTH STUDIO ALBUM IS NOW AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE ON ALL MAJOR STREAMING PLATFORMS

FROM HER own label Parkwood Entertainment and Columbia Records, RENAISSANCE arrives six years after the globally lauded LEMONADE was released in 2016 as a complete surprise.

The originator of the visual album format, and the preeminent visual artist, decided to lead without visuals giving fans the opportunity to be limitless in their expansive listening journey. It is a chance again to be listeners and not viewers, while taking in every gem of the pristine production. While "Break My Soul," the first single, arrived with a minimal atureshifting move from the artist who has defined an era with reinvention.

RENAISSANCE has been the most anticipated album of the year as Beyoncé shifted gears and notified her fans of new music on June 15 through an update in her bio on her social handles, "act i RENAISSANCE July 29." She continued the unconventional rollout with the release of the album's first single, "Break My Soul," which arrived at Midnight on the summer solstice. Instantly addicting with a pulsating beat, with lyrics that urge listeners to claim joy and to "release the wiggle." The single, a worldwide hit, has been called the song of the summer and an anthem for this generation.

Packed with rousing anthems that resonate with everybody, RENAISSANCE is a culmination of freedom and escape that encourages unimaginable jubilation, agency, and movement with abandon. The singular intent of RENAISSANCE, a reinvention of four on the floor, is to showcase music that stirs you from the soul and encourages your dancing feet. It is a celebration of a club era when anyone who felt like an outsider sought each other and formed a community of freedom-seekers to express themselves creatively through the rhythm, which we still celebrate today. Welcome to CLUB RENAISSANCE.

The magic of RENAISSANCE is also in Beyoncé's soaring vocals, rich, soulful, at times vulnerable and laden with passion and purpose in what could only be described as "SANGING." And it expands over memorable lyrics that are bold, heartened, urgent and categorically timely.

While the visuals are scheduled for a later date, the album comes with a

robust menu of formats giving music fans and collectors plenty to choose. The music store on Beyoncé's website offers album merch and multiple configurations of RENAISSANCE, listing a CD, digital album, a limited-edition vinyl, launch with a bit of her signature mystery, that is now sold out, and four box sets, Pose 1 to 4, which include a t-shirt and CD in a special box, also all sold out, before fans were given the descriptions of the content. The breakout single, "Break My Soul," comes as a digital single and is also available in a capella and instrumental versions.

With the album release also comes a deluxe vinyl. It includes two black vinyl LPs, a 36-page booklet, and a folded collectable (24"x 36") poster. The full shopping experience is here.

Beyoncé recorded the album over the course of the pandemic, almost three years in the works, and states that the stillness of that time allowed her to tap into her most creative self. "Creating this album allowed me a place to dream and to find escape during a scary time for the world," says Beyoncé. "It allowed me to feel free and adventurous in a time when little else was moving. My intention was to create a safe place, a place without judgment. A place to be free of perfectionism and overthinking. A place to scream, release, feel freedom. It was a beautiful journey of exploration."

With a squad of prolific collaborators, including The-Dream, Nile Rodgers, NOVA, NO ID, Raphael Saadiq, Mike Dean, Honey Dijon, Chris Penny, Luke Solomon, Skrillex, Beam, Big Freedia, Grace Jones and Tems, Beyoncé set out "to reinvent music again," as described by The Times of London.

RENAISSANCE: A revival of or renewed interest in something. Let the renaissance begin.

RENAISSANCE Album Cover. Photo by Carlijn Jacobs.

THE WEEKND AFTER HOURS TIL DAWN TOUR 2022

THE AFTER Hours Til Dawn stadium tour kicked off up north in The Weeknd’s hometown of Toronto last July 8th at the Rogers Centre, with stops at iconic U.S. stadiums including MetLife Stadium in New York City, Soldier Field in Chicago, Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, and more, before wrapping Friday, September 2nd at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, California. The tour is produced by Live Nation. This is the first leg of The Weeknd’s massive world tour, with additional dates in Mexico, South America, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Africa & Middle East to be announced soon.

Tickets for the North American dates go on sale via TheWeeknd.com/tour.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), the world’s largest humanitarian organization fighting global hunger, has partnered with its Goodwill Ambassador Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye to launch the XO HUMANITARIAN FUND to which he is contributing $1 from each ticket sold in North America from this highly anticipated tour. The Weeknd will also make a donation of $500,000 and $1 million will be contributed by World Food Program USA to the fund. Fueled by his passion to help those in need, the multi-platinum and diamond certified global superstar established this fund to support the U.N. World Food Programme’s critical food assistance to communities on the brink of starvation, in countries like Ethiopia, Madagascar and Yemen. The Fund is administered by World Food Program USA.

This 2022 tour marks the first time The Weeknd will be touring his mammoth album After Hours (it’s hit single “Blinding Lights” was named the new No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 song of all time, surpassing Chubby Checker’s 1960 hit “The Twist”) as well as the recently released and highly critically acclaimed album DAWN FM.

The tour will see his most ambitious production to date reflecting the creative journey that continues to unfold for both these albums, creating worlds within worlds as we have all been watching unfold in various television performances, music videos and short films bringing these first two pieces of his trilogy to life.

BINO RIDEAUX ’S SORRY 4 THA WAIT II, NOW AVAILABLE VIA DEF JAM RECORDINGS

BINO RIDEAUX, the South Central L.A. rapper and Nipsey Hussle protege who has become an essential voice for West Coast hip-hop, today releases SORRY 4 THA WAIT II, his new project via Def Jam Recordings. S4TWII is the follow up to Bino Rideaux’s 2019 mixtape SORRY 4 THA WAIT. S4TWII includes the standout single + video “Outta Line”featuring longtime collaborator Ty Dolla $ign, as well as star-studded features by Drakeo, Roddy Ricch and more.

With his one-two punch of laidback flows and hypnotic melodies that have amassed over a quarter-billion streams and nearly a half-million followers, 29-year-old Bino Rideaux has not-soquietly been shaping the next era of West Coast hip-hop. His seven year journey to the top tier crystalized during 2021, with a non-stop string of single + video releases that started in June with “Got To Know It,” which was featured in the Def Jam podcast, Here Comes the Break.

After first teaming up with fellow 21st century West Coast force of nature BLXST for the critically acclaimed Sixtape in 2019, the pair returned in 2021 with Sixtape 2, which spun off the “Pop Out” single + video in July. It was the prelude to Bino’s 6-week, 18-city “On My Soul” fall tour of North America (with special guests BlueBuck$Clan and Coot Corleone), every date sold-out in advance record time. The “On My Soul” tour kicked off in September with a two-night hometown stand at The Novo in downtown Los Angeles. That same weekend, Bino dropped a new single + video, “No Makeup” featuring King Combs.

Pegged as one of Rolling Stone’s “Breakthrough 25,” Billboard championed Bino in its tally of “6 LA Rappers to Watch in 2021” and went on to describe him as “the brightest star to emerge from that orbit.” Meanwhile, KAZI christened him “one of the West Coast’s most exciting new talents.” With the release of his upcoming project, SORRY 4 THA WAIT II,Bino Rideaux has clearly come a long way since his first indie project back in 2015, Life Is Like A Movie, recorded out of a D.I.Y. studio in his grandmother’s house.

Beast

SOMETIMES THE rustle in the bushes actually is a monster.

Idris Elba (Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, The Suicide Squad) stars in a pulse-pounding new thriller about a father and his two teenage daughters who find themselves hunted by a massive rogue lion intent on proving that the savannah has but one apex predator.

Elba plays Dr. Nate Daniels, a recently widowed husband who returns to South Africa, where he first met his wife, on a longplanned trip with their daughters to a game reserve managed by Martin Battles (Sharlto Copley, Russian Doll series, Maleficent), an old family friend and wildlife biologist. But what begins as a journey of healing jolts into a fearsome fight for survival when a lion, a survivor of blood-thirsty poachers who now sees all humans as the enemy, begins stalking them.

Iyana Halley (The Hate U Give, This is Us series) plays Daniels’ 18-year-old daughter, Meredith, and Leah Sava Jeffries (Rel series, Empire series) plays his 13-year-old, Norah.

From visceral, experiential filmmaker Baltasar Kormákur, the director of Everest and Universal Pictures’ 2 Guns and Contraband, Beast is produced by Will Packer, the blockbuster producer of Girls Trip, the Ride Along franchise, and ten movies that have opened No. 1 at the U.S. box office, including Night School, No Good Deed and Think Like a Man, by James Lopez, president of Will Packer Productions, and by Baltasar Kormákur. The film is written by Ryan Engle (Rampage, Non-Stop) from an original story by Jaime Primak Sullivan and is executive produced by Jaime Primak Sullivan and Bernard Bellew.

IN THEATERS AUGUST 19, 2022.

Marvel Debuts Trailers for ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’

BLACK PANTHER: Wakanda Forever capped San Diego ComicCon presentation to thunderous roars and applause, beginning with a live performance by Baaba Maal (vocals), Massamba Diop (tama), dancers, and drummers. Feige was joined on stage by director Ryan Coogler and cast members Mabel Cadena, Michaela Cole, Winston Duke, Danai Gurira, Tenoch Huerta, Florence Kasumba, Alex Livinalli, Lupita Nyong’o, Dominique Thorne, and Letitia Wright for a Q&A and first look at the film’s first trailer (above). In Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), Shuri (Wright), M’Baku (Duke), Okoye (Gurira), and the Dora Milaje (including Kasumba) fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s death. As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together with the help of War Dog Nakia (Nyong’o) and Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) and forge a new path for the kingdom of Wakanda. The film introduces Tenoch Huerta as Namor, king of a hidden undersea nation. Feige also announced Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will end Phase 4 and open in U.S. theaters on November 11, 2022.

Milestone Generations

DOCUMENTARY FILM NOW AVAILABLE AT HBO MAX

AT THE San Diego Comic-Con as a part of DC’s Jim Lee and Friends panel, Milestone co-founder Denys Cowan and DC Chief Creative Officer and Publisher Jim Lee announced the forthcoming documentary MILESTONE GENERATIONS, a film directed by Justice A. Whitaker. The film is available now to stream on HBO Max. An extended trailer for the film was debuted exclusively to Comic-Con audiences and can be found here.

Narrated by award winning actor and musician Cliff ‘Method Man’ Smith, MILESTONE GENERATIONS chronicles the relaunch of Milestone Comics and Milestone Media’s mission to address not only the lack of superheroes of color in comics, but also the lack of storytellers of color creating the content.

Milestone Media – co-founded in 1993 by artist Denys Cowan, writers Dwayne McDuffie and Michael T. Davis and Black Enterprise EVP/Chief Content Officer Derek T. Dingle – collaborated with DC to create the fictional city of Dakota, and some of the most unique and innovative characters in comics, such as Static, Icon, Hardware, Blood Syndicate and more. Last year Cowan, alongside Milestone Media partner and awardwinning producer Reginald Hudlin, relaunched Milestone Comics with DC to continue the Milestone mission in the future. The film examines the founders’ trajectory throughout the last 30 years, detailing their unwavering commitment, passion and perseverance to rise to the top of the comic book industry as black creators. With tenacity and dynamic artistic expression, the creators of Milestone Media continue to influence culture and ignite revolutionary change through characters that reflect the lived, black experience.

MILESTONE GENERATIONS connects to the present industry need to identify, support and elevate emerging diverse writers and artists within the comic book world, highlighting The Milestone Initiative, a program from DC, Milestone Media, Warner Bros. Discovery and Ally that aims to empower the next generation of Black and diverse comic book creators.

Cartoonist and writer Ivan Velez Jr. ("Tales of the Closet,” Blood Syndicate," “Ballad of Wham Kabam”); DC Publisher and Chief Creative Officer Jim Lee; writer and widow of Dwayne McDuffie, Charlotte (Fullerton) McDuffie; DC Senior Art Director Curtis King Jr.; voice actor Phil LaMarr ("Static Shock!," "Justice League," "Justice League Unlimited," "Samurai Jack"); former DC President and Publisher Paul Levitz; journalist and author Angélique Roché (“My Super Hero is Black”); Milestone Media artist and color editor Jason Scott Jones; and filmmaker and author Dr. Sheena Howard (“Black Comics: Politics of Race and Representation”) are among those interviewed for the project.

The film was produced by Courageous Studios – working with DC and Ally, the presenting sponsor – and was directed by Justice A. Whitaker (“Restrictions Apply”/Vice News, Untitled Full Circle Documentary/WestBrook Studios).

ENCUENTROS LA 2022

THE DUDAMEL FOUNDATION AND THE LA PHIL CO-PRESENT ENCUENTROS LA 2022 SUMMER MUSIC EDUCATION AND GLOBAL LEADERSHIP PROGRAM FOR YOUNG ORCHESTRA MUSICIANS

UNDER THE leadership of Gustavo Dudamel and María Valverde, the Dudamel Foundation and the LA Phil will co-present Encuentros LA 2022, their first Encuentros (Encounters) in the United States, July 19–August 5, 2022.

Encuentros is a global music education program that explores cultural unity and celebrates harmony, equality, dignity, beauty and respect through music, with the goal of inspiring and teaching a new generation of young leaders to work toward building a better world. The young musicians will also participate in community initiatives, mentorship opportunities with the YOLA National Festival and projects throughout Los Angeles, culminating with concerts at the Hollywood Bowl and UC Berkeley.

In honor of the Hollywood Bowl’s first 100 seasons, over 100 top-tier young musicians (ages 18–26) from the Americas and around the world—from 34 youth orchestra and El Sistema-inspired programs in 22 countries—will work sideby-side in the Encuentros Orchestra.

Capping the two-week orchestral training festival, Gustavo Dudamel, the Encuentros Orchestra including members of YOLA (Youth Orchestra Los Angeles) are joined by multi-Grammywinning vocalist, bassist and composer esperanza spalding—who recently took home a 2022 Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Album.

Celebrating the next generation of arts leaders, Musical Encounters with Dudamel and esperanza spalding will include a world premiere LA Phil commission by award-winning composer and El Sistema alum Giancarlo Castro D’Addona, concerts at the Hollywood Bowl on August 2, 2022, and in partnership with Cal Performances at UC Berkeley’s William Randolph Hearst Greek Theatre on August 4, 2022.

LA Phil Chief Executive Officer and David C. Bohnett Chief Executive Officer Chair Chad Smith said, “When Gustavo first joined us more than a decade ago, we never could have predicted that YOLA, the seed he planted at the EXPO Center in South LA with just 80 students, would blossom into this—a completely interconnected and global expression of our shared values of access, inclusion and the sheer power of music to transform the lives of individuals and communities. Every aspect of our organization, from YOLA to YOLA National to our Dudamel Conducting Fellows to our musicians and audiences, is engaged in Encuentros LA 2022, and we couldn’t be more excited to see it all come together on the Hollywood Bowl stage.”

During the intensive orchestral global leadership and music training program, workshops and rehearsals will be conducted by Dudamel and LA Phil Dudamel conducting fellows with additional sectionals and masterclasses led by a faculty of musicians from the LA Phil and guest artists from top orchestras from around the globe, including the Berliner Philharmoniker, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Opéra National de Paris, Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra, Orquesta

Sinfónica Nacional de Chile and SWR Symphonieorchester Stuttgart.

LA Phil Music & Artistic Director and Dudamel Foundation Co-Chair Gustavo Dudamel explained, “I have always believed that every child should be given the opportunity to learn at the highest level. And so it is a dream for María and me to be able to create this beautiful Encuentros, where talented young musicians from around the world get the chance to work with some of the most incredible artists in our field. We are trying to build a community together, founded on empathy, discipline, respect and inclusion.”

Dudamel Foundation Co-Chair María Valverde added, “This shared experience is not just about making music, it is the cultural, social and spiritual act of creation. Sharing conversations and experiences with these incredible role models will offer all of us a space to experiment and to grow, and together we hope to inspire the leaders of a new generation to build a better world together.”

Career training sessions on leadership and social change will explore the power and use of language, how to leverage social and digital media to share stories, and audience education around diversity of experience, and create pathways for a mission-driven career in music. Small group and one-on-one meetings will encourage shared learning and career training for young musicians to delve into a range of important issues: portfolio development, arts management, communications and public relations, and interviewing skills and networking.

Focusing on the idea of reciprocal mentorship, each of the Dudamel Foundation artists will be paired with YOLA National students who will serve as mentors, role models and peers. In turn, each of the Dudamel Foundation artists will be mentored by world class teaching artists from the LA Phil and around the world.

Cultural exchange and dialogue will be encouraged through a series of public and private talks and discussions hosted by friends and colleagues, with additional details to be announced.

The Encuentros Festival is supported by Judith and Thomas L. Beckmen.

Boyz II Men Ricky Martin

Kenny Loggins with Jim Messina Pentatonix

TLC

A Summer of Stars at the hollywood bowl

MANY OF the biggest names in entertainment are scheduled to appear at the Hollywood Bowl during its centennial season. The historic line-up will include Kenny Loggins with Jim Messina (July 15-16), Ricky Martin with the LA Phil and Gustavo Dudamel (July 22-23), Boyz II Men and TLC (July 29), John Fogerty (July 30), a-ha with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and Principal Conductor Thomas Wilkins (July 31), Sheryl Crow and Keb’ Mo’ (August 3), The Gipsy Kings featuring Nicolas Reyes (August 19-20), Diana Ross (August 26-27), Duran Duran with fireworks (September 9, 10 and 11), Pink Martini (September 14), Lang Lang (September 15), Grace Jones and CHVRCHES (September 25) and Pentatonix (September 29).

USHER SELLS OUT ALL 2022 DATES

AFTER WRAPPING up another successful run of Usher: My Way The Vegas Residency at Dolby Live at Park MGM this past weekend, global megastar and eight-time GRAMMY Award-winner Usher has announced since opening on July 15, all of his 2022 shows, including the eight upcoming performances scheduled for October 14 through 29, have sold out.

Limited tickets remain for Usher’s 25 recently announced new show dates in 2023:

March 2023: 3, 4, 8, 10, 11, 15, 17, 18

April 2023: 14, 15, 19, 21, 22, 26, 28, 29

June 2023: 28

July 2023: 1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 12, 14, 15

Tickets can be purchased online at www.ticketmaster.com/ushervegas.

General ticket prices begin at $79, plus applicable tax and fees, and a limited number of VIP meet & greet packages also are available for each show. All shows are scheduled to begin at 9 p.m.

Custom-designed for the expansive Dolby Live stage and presented in partnership by Live Nation and MGM Resorts International, the show gives audiences an extraordinary immersive experience with extravagant costumes and state-of-the-art technology in lighting, video and special effects. The exclusive, only-in-Vegas spectacular is packed with an impressive repertoire of smash hits spanning the multi-talented showman’s 20-year career, including “Yeah,” “U Remind Me,” “My Boo,” “Love In This Club,” “OMG” and “You Make Me Wanna…” The new show incorporates audience interaction and staging throughout the 5,200-seat entertainment venue, where every guest has an up close and personal experience with the superstar.

Usher’s Las Vegas show features creative and show direction from Outside the Box Amusements, with co-creative direction by Aakomon Jones, video and lighting design by Fragment 9, set design by Tate Design Group and choreography by Cornithea “Rio” Henderson and Amy Allen.

Additionally, Usher, Live Nation Las Vegas and MGM Resorts are donating $1 of every ticket purchased to Usher’s Las Vegas residency dates in 2023 to Usher’s New Look, Inc. (UNL). Founded in 1999 by Usher as a young man barely out of his teens, UNL is on a mission to transform the lives of underserved youth through a comprehensive program that develops passion-driven, global leaders. UNL's peer-to-peer program model and curriculum provides Access, Awareness and Empowerment to youth in underserved communities, in order to guide them on a pathway to leadership and help them make educational and career choices that match their passions. Over the course of 23 years, the organization has reached more than 50,000 young people.

Fans are invited to A Taste of Passion, the immersive after party experience for Usher’s My Way residency, with appearances by Usher himself and live performances from the residency cast. This exclusive experience at On the Record in Park MGM gives guests a tantalizing taste of the music legend’s passions. Carouse around the neondrenched world while mixologists shake up four custom cocktails. Produced by Outside the Box Amusements with design by Handsome Little Devils, the after party features DJ Mars, Brian Michael Cox and Keith Thomas. Tickets can be purchased at ticketmaster.com and include one complimentary cocktail. Guests must be 21 years of age or older to enter. Doors open at 11 p.m.

WAKE UP

ONE OF THE LEADING, lauded independent feature films on the indie circuit the past few months, WAKE UP, a dramatic narrative centered on sex trafficking of our society’s most vulnerable youth, had its sold-out Hollywood premiere last week at the Directors Guild of America (DGA) and began its Academy Awards, Oscar qualifying exclusive run this past weekend, September 9th (through 9/15) at the Regency Theaters Agoura where it was the highest grossing film against even the newest blockbuster releases including “Elvis” and “Spiderman.”

Next week, this vital narrative feature is headed to Capitol Hill for a special screening with our nation’s top lawmakers as they take up new Congressional legislation to protect innocent children from the grasp of sex trafficking. Joining director-star Janet Craig over the next week on all press is the impressive, well-spoken human trafficking survivor, educator and activist, Rachel Thomas, who is respected as the leading authority on what needs to be done to remedy one of the biggest undercovered issues facing us today.

Filmmaker Janet Craig’s WAKE UP tells the story of a quiet community rocked when a pair of foster youth are targeted and taken by a sex trafficking ring. A daring rescue is mounted — but will it be too late? Having captured audiences from coast to coast honoring the compelling cinematic journey with awards from prestigious Sedona Fest to Sunscreen Festival, director/producer Craig, who also co-wrote the original narrative with Dan Horan, based the story on a composite of true accounts she encountered after becoming a foster parent and learning about abuse within the system which many youth face. The WAKE UP message has resonated so very much with festival circuit audiences standing ovations became part and parcel of each screening. Just out article: https://theblast.com/312185/itstime-to-wake-up-to-terrifying-realityof-human-trafficking/

In the U.S., the FBI estimates that more than 100,000 children and teens are victims of sex trafficking and it’s estimated that 60% of victims have been within foster care or the child welfare system. In fact, this has become an issue of importance to the longtime foster parents. Adding an undeniable dimension to this important independent feature, many of the most prominent advocacy organizations have partnered to present the film, sponsoring screenings and Q&As and endorsing Wake Up as a “call to action.” "On a movie set people bring different skills and different gifts to make a film," Craig said in an interview. "People can also bring whatever time, treasure and their talents to fight this global crisis.” Further, the feature infuses elements of the 2005 Academy-Award winning drama "Crash" and the Liam Neeson thriller "Taken" to bring about a rollercoaster journey for the viewer that is both rich, satisfying and thought-provoking with its climactic scene.

WAKE UP stars Janet Craig (Butterfly Caught), David Gridley (Team Kaylie), Isaac C. Singleton, Jr. (Anger Management, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl), Judson Mills (Walker, Texas Ranger), Brooke Anne Smith (Too Close To Home), Matt Socia (Better Call Saul); along with several newcomers at the center of the story, including Tori Griffith, O’Shay Neal, Chasnie Houston and Xan Gabriel. The film finishes with an essential message from prominent human trafficking survivor and outspoken advocate Rachel C. Thomas. We are happy to make a digital screener available to you on request.

Photo by Giles Keyte